Boyan Slat’s Ocean Cleaning Device Sets Sail This Summer

When Boyan Slat was 16 years old, he found himself coming across more plastic than fish while diving in Greece. It was then that he decided to dedicate a high school project to investigating ocean plastic pollution and how he could make a difference.

At 18 years old, he told a TEDx talk audience that he was going to develop a passive system to clean up oceans using ocean currents.

Then, in 2013, he founded the non-profit entity, the Ocean Cleanup, whose mission is to develop advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic.

“Once plastic enters the marine food web, there is a possibility that it will contaminate the human food chain as well. Efforts to clean and eradicate ocean plastic have also caused significant financial burdens,” The Ocean Cleanup website explains.